What She Thinks of Alchemy
by Mayura-Hikari-090
Summary: Winry reflects on her feelings for alchemy. [EdxWin] [oneshot]


What She Thinks of Alchemy

Fanfic by Mayura Hikari

-------------------------------------------------------------

"Mama! Mama! Hey, Mom! Look at this!"

A small girl with pale blond hair and golden eyes ran into the kitchen of the Rockbell house. She was clutching a small figurine in her hands, grinning like a maniac.

Winry turned from her spot cooking stew for dinner to look at the girl. "What is it, Lili?" She bent down to be eye-level with the five-year-old.

Lili opened her hands and held out the figure for her mother to see. It was a small bird. Winry smiled and ruffled Lili's hair. "Did your dad help you make it with clay?"

Lili shook her head, her blond hair whipping back and forth with the head motions. "I made it with…." She paused dramatically. "ALCHEMY!"

Winry's face went white. Her heart began to pound. Flashbacks ran through her head at lightening fast speed. Images of two small boys surrounded by books…cutting her out of conversations…one in a pool of blood…a burnt-down house….

She shook her head to get the pictures out. She smiled again. "That's great, sweetie," Winry managed to get out. "Now run along while Mommy finishes dinner."

Lili grinned again and ran out of the house, still holding her creation in her small hands.

Back in the kitchen, Winry sat down at the table, her face in her hands. She had known this day would come. _She is _his_ child, after all,_ she thought, miserably. _Maybe good will come out of it this time…._

Because the truth was, Winry Rockbell hated alchemy. And for a variety of reasons.

Alchemy had started a war.

Alchemy took her parents, even if it wasn't directly.

Alchemy caused her two best friends pain and suffering.

Alchemy caused the two people she loved most (besides Granny) to disappear from her life only to reappear years later as strangers.

And yet, alchemy continued to capture them and keep them in its grasp.

She knew she was selfish for thinking these things, which is why she kept them to herself. Edward himself didn't even know how much she hated alchemy. He knew she disliked it or rather didn't love it as much as auto-mail, but he never knew how much she hated it.

And yet she lived with it.

And she tolerated it.

Because she loved him.

-----------------------------------------------

The three sat at dinner, quieter than usual.

Well, Mom and Dad were quiet. Lili chattered on as usual, telling her entertaining stories of what she had done that day.

Edward knew something was bothering her; he just didn't want to bring it up in front of Lili.

Winry took a deep breath. "Lili, did you show Daddy what you made today?"

Lili perked up. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "It was awesome, Dad! Lemme go get it." Before either one of them could say a word, she was gone off to find her wonderful creation.

She held it up like a trophy. "Isn't it pretty, Daddy?" she asked, batting her eyelashes.

Winry rolled her eyes, waiting for the usual Dad reaction from Ed. _She's got him wrapped around her little finger_, she thought.

But it didn't come. Edward instead took the figure from Lili, inspecting it. Winry could see the recognition in his eyes. He knew how she made it.

"Lili," he sighed. "We need to have a talk."

-------------------------------------

After Lili had been read a bedtime story and had fallen asleep, Edward trudged into their room; his shoulders slumped with the weight of the world it seemed.

Winry sat behind him and rubbed his tense shoulders. They were silent for a while, until Ed spoke, his voice quiet and slightly hoarse.

"I should've known this would happen," he said, heavily. "Wait, scratch that, I _knew_ this would happen. I just wasn't prepared."

"She is your kid," Winry pointed out.

Edward sighed. "I'm torn between teaching her myself, sending her to be taught by someone else, and taking alchemy from her life altogether. Maybe it's too risky. If she's so much like me, then she'll make a mistake—"

"And learn from it like you did," Winry interrupted, wrapping her arms around him. "She has to fall and get up on her own or she won't learn anything."

Ed nodded. "But I don't want her to get hurt like we were hurt…like you were—"

Winry cut him off again. "You know, the other day, Lili fell down and cut her knee playing on the old swing."

Edward looked at her questioningly. "And?" he asked wondering what that had to do with their conversation.

"She didn't cry. She came in the house and said, 'Mama, I need you to fix my knee.' Her face was practically expressionless. It was almost as if she asked me for just a drink of water." Winry laughed at the memory.

"What's your point?"

"She's strong, Ed," she said, tightening her arms around his shoulders. "She's strong like you. She can take anything…like you."

That was enough. Ed knew what she was saying. He turned to hug her in return. "Thanks, Win," he whispered.

-------------------------------------------

Winry learned to not hate alchemy after that. She still didn't like it. She still thought that auto-mail kicked it out of the water.

But she didn't hate it.

She loved to be washing the dishes or working on her clients' auto-mail and look out the window to a rare picturesque moment.

She loved to see Edward kneeling down next to his little girl, the spitting image of himself, gently guiding her hand to a proper transmutation circle. She loved to see him giving her praise when she transmuted it properly, patting her head affectionately. She loved the way her eyes lit up not when she did it right, but when she got the praise from her father.

Of course, Winry had been upset for a while that she wasn't going to have a future grease monkey to train, but her exchange was watching the two most important people in her life sharing moments that would stick with that little girl forever.

_Ha_, she laughed to herself. _Equivalent exchange._

Guess it's not just for alchemy geeks. And their little girls.

-----------------------------------------------

A/N: Me and 'lil sis love the idea of EdxWin's kid, so here is a drabble born of the idea of that and how Winry could live with alchemy. I just thought about it and this came to me. Please R&R! EDXWIN 4EVER!


End file.
